40% medicos fail first-year exams

CHENNAI: From topping exams to failing, it has taken them less than a year. Months after acing their 12th standard exams, nearly 40% of all first-year medical students in 27 colleges across the state have failed. They will take the exams again in February 2012 to be promoted to the second year.

This year, the failure percentage has increased by 3-11% in anatomy, physiology and biochemistry, the subjects that first-year students are taught.

The increase is largely attributed to changes in exam and evaluation policies. Unlike in previous years when students would get 40 marks as grace, this year not more than five grace marks were awarded as per Medical Council of India guidelines. Some 221 students benefited from the grace marks this year.

Also, in 2011, a student had to pass all the theory, oral and practical exams. Earlier, a student only needed a combined score of 50% from the two anatomy papers, but this year he/ she had to get 50% in each.

Earlier this year, the academic board of the Dr MGR Medical University fixed the passing minimum in each component of the examination, and this came into effect from August 2011. Deans and principals of all affiliated colleges were informed eight months before the examinations. "We had to do this to build better doctors. Medicos can't afford to leave out portions in choices. They can't say I failed in anatomy first paper but scored high in the second paper. It does not work," said university vice-chancellor Dr Mayilvahanan Natarajan.

Changes in exam and evaluation rules have led to this year's increase in the failure percentage of first-year medical students, academicians say. While these procedural changes may have contributed to this year's spike, a high percentage of first-year students fail every year, they add.

The dean of Madras Medical College (MMC) Dr V Kanakasabai agrees with the medical university's examination reforms, such as awarding fewer grace marks, but insists on better school education.

"We get the cream of students into our college. The quick dip in academic performance has something to do with the quality of students coming into medical colleges. They probably are so used to rote-based learning that they simply can't adapt themselves so quickly to concept-based learning," he said. At MMC, where seats get filled hours after counselling for admissions begins, nearly 17% of students failed in anatomy this year.

Every year, the fight to enter medical colleges gets tougher with more and more students scoring better in their class 12 examination. Unlike other states, students in Tamil Nadu are admitted to colleges based on their score in class 12. The state government feels eliminating common entrance will give rural students a chance to get into medical colleges. Senior doctors like Dr Rajasekaran feel that it's important to test students' aptitude before they are admitted to medical colleges and that can be done only through a common medical test. Among the 2008 batch of students who appeared for the break batch exam in February 2010, only 45% of the students passed in physiology. "We really don't know if they even like to study medicine or if they are pushed into it by parents," he said.

The reasons could be systemic, too. First year courses are considered non-clinical and the faculty of these courses is in short supply. For instance, there are less than 10 forensic experts for 17 medical colleges across the state. "Students are used to being spoon fed. In many medical colleges, they would only brief students on topics in almost all non-clinical subjects," said Dr G Ravindranath, who heads the Doctors Association for Social Equality.

Added to these are the new challenges of a professional education. From being school students, they are suddenly considered adults and thrown into a high-pressure environment of long hours, late nights and unsupervised lives. Living in hostels could add to the suddenness of the change that's taken over them. "Many students are forced to move to cities. Some come from villages and small towns. They have to adapt a lot. They tend to miss out on academics while they are adapting," said Dr Ravindranathan.

TIMES VIEW

Faculty and eminent doctors are not surprised that students with near-perfect scores in class 12 do poorly in the first year medical exams. Inching up, the failure rate stands at 40% this year. The current increase is attributed to a change in exam rules which gives fewer grace marks and requires students to pass all subjects. But the problem is deeper and systemic. The failure of students exposes the limitations of the school education system. Toppers coming from TN are reared in rote-based learning whereas professional education requires conceptual learning. School education is clearly in need of an overhaul

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Gujarat to soon have govt medical stores

After the success of its 108 emergency services, the Gujarat government is now proposing setting up medical stores across the state to sell medicines at subsidised rates.Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of Pharmac India 2011, state minister for health and tourism, Jaynarayan Vyas said that the state government would set up medical stores that would sell generic unbranded medicines. Held by the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA), Pharmac India 2011 is the second international exhibition of India's prominent pharma and healthcare industry"Government would buy these generic medicines directly from manufacturers under its purchase program. The idea is to offer affordable medicines to consumers across the state," said Vyas. Elaborating on the proposed plan, Vyas said that a generic medicine like paracetamol will be sold in an unbranded version at one-third of its market price. Vyas, however, did not comment on the number of such proposed stores across the state.Similarly, talking about more such plans, Vyas said that the government is also proposing to offer 104 services, on the lines of the 108 emergency services. Under this, the government would hire medical doctors who would be available round-the-clock for offering medical advice on phone for common diseases.Later, speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Maheshwar Sahu, principal secretary, industry and mines, Government of Gujarat invited the pharma industry body IDMA to hold the third edition of Pharmac India at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit (VGGIS) in 2013.According to KS Chhabra, secretary, IDMA Gujarat Chapter, about 300 stalls have been set up at the three-day exhibition which is expected to see 20,000 footfalls this year. "When held alongwith VGGIS 2013, we are expecting over 1,000 stalls, given the response this year from participants," said Chhabra.While nationally IDMA has over 750 members, around 180 of these are from Gujarat.Link: Original Article

Maharashtra govt medical colleges to get 881 more PG seats

The post-graduate (PG) medical seats in 13 government medical colleges in the state will more than double this year. The 13 colleges will add 881 PG seats for the 2011-2012 academic year. The medical colleges at present have only 750 post-graduate seats for which they receive more than 7,000 applications from doctors.

The increase in the number of PG seats is an outcome of the ministry of health and family welfare sanctioning Rs417 crore for the up-gradation of the 13 government medical colleges. “The central government has agreed to release the funds and the state government has decided to give its counterpart share of Rs104 crore which will be utilised for up-gradation of these medical colleges,” said Milind Mhaiskar, medical education secretary.

“The memorandum of understanding will be signed before the end of this month between the state and the central government, after which the Centre will release its share to the respective hospitals.” The central government has agreed to contribute Rs313 crore (75%) while the state will put in Rs104 crore (25%). In the last six months, teams sent by the ministry of health and family welfare visited the 13 medical colleges in the state including Grant Medical College and the JJ Group of hospitals in the city.

Mhaiskar said that the funding would be utilised for constructing new rooms, hostels, refurbishing operation theatres, laboratories and buying new equipments wherever necessary.

“Just increasing the post-graduate seats won’t help. The senior resident doctors who stay in the hospital premises also need all the other necessary facilities as well. This funding will help in filling the present infrastructure gaps,” said Mhaiskar.

“Increasing the number of post graduate seats will reflect in more number of specialist doctors getting trained in the state and being available for state service,” said Dr Pravin Shingare, joint director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research.

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Govt snubs MCI, to start its PG course

The Gujarat government has resolved to bypass the Medical Council of India (MCI) and start its own specialised post-graduate medical course with a view to end the shortage of specialised medicos in the state.

Under the plan, the Gujarat government will take permission of the state unit of MCI to start the PG teaching and training in various courses rather than wait for the MCI permission. The courses are likely to start from the next academic year.

The decision has been taken in view of the fact that MCI took a long time in granting permission for PG medical courses and its conditions are also tough. Almost 50 per cent PG seats in most medical colleges remain vacant leading to a perpetual shortage of specialised medicos in Gujarat.

According to officials, most of the state’s medical colleges and hospitals have the latest equipment, but they remained unutilised or under-utilised owing to a shortage of specialists. The alternative plan is being adopted on the pattern existing in neighbouring Maharashtra.

But there is a drawback. PG candidates recognised only by the Gujarat unit of MCI will not be able to practice or get jobs in other states unless the latter recognise them.

“But they will be able to work as private practitioners and will be eligible to all government jobs in Gujarat, including teaching posts in the state’s government and private medical institutions,” said state Health Minister Jaynarayan Vyas.

According to Vyas, two new PG courses will be launched under the new arrangement. They will be a two-year diploma and a three year PG fellowship programme in various branches.

“By this arrangement, we plan to bring an end to the perpetual shortage of specialised medicos in the state in the next three years,” Vyas said.

The candidates will get good stipends, but the government is yet to fix the number of seats and procedures for admission to the courses.

A senior faculty member in BJ Medical College said: “The decision will serve two purposes. Initially it will reduce the shortages of hands in government and private medical colleges as PG candidates can take care of outdoor and indoor patients. Secondly, after completion of their courses, these candidates can make up for the shortages in the market by working as private practitioners or they can even join as teachers in state’s medical institutions which are facing staff crunch.”

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Bill Gates praises Nitish Kumar at World Health Assembly

Bill Gates today showered praise on Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar at the World Health Assembly for his impressive performance of rapid vaccination for the children in the state, saying "people are hungry for visionary leaders" who deliver upon their promises."Inter-state jealousies" over social performance are contributing to increased focus on health, Gates told reporters here."I was struck by the chief minister's popularity," he said in his address to the 64th World Health Assembly (WHA), which is the governing body of the World Health Organization (WHO)."Nitish Kumar and Muhammad Pate (head of Nigeria's polio eradication programme) have demonstrated that the best leaders can overcome the worst circumstances," said Gates, adding "People are hungry for visionary leaders who not only promise a better future, but deliver upon that promise." He urged health ministers to embark on rapid vaccination programme to reduce child mortality."Let us rededicate ourselves to the idea that no district will be below 80 per cent coverage," Gates emphasised at the annual meeting of WHA to set the priorities for the coming year.India has one of the highest child and infant mortality rates in the world.Despite a robust pharmaceutical industry and growing economic prosperity, India is yet to make a significant dent on its disease-burden, said health analysts.Gates said nations must strive to "make this the decade of vaccines," underscoring the need for donor countries not to turn a deaf ear for making generous contributions towards "vaccines and immunization." The founder of Microsoft said pharmaceutical companies must manufacture affordable vaccines for poor countries, while WHO's 193 members must "make vaccines a central focus of your health systems, to ensure that all your children have access to existing vaccines now - and to new ones as they become available. He asked vaccine companies in the world to emulate "the Serum Institute of India, led by Dr Cyrus Poonawalla," for manufacturing the low-cost meningitis vaccine.He said the Serum institute has become world's largest producer of the measles vaccines, and the pentavalent vaccine, suggesting that the Indian company is now manufacturing inexpensive "diarrhea and pneumonia vaccines." The Gates foundation has become the second largest donor to the WHO after the US.The WHO, which is facing unprecedented financial deficit to the tune of USD 300 million, is now seeking funds from private and philanthropic outfits committed to improving global health, Dr Margaret Chan, WHO's director general, told reporters.She told PTI that there is no conflict of interests or lack of accountability for the funds received from private sources."WHO is a multilateral organization and we have clear rules," she said, suggesting that it doesn't allow the companies to have any influence in its day-to-day decisions.

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TN med council locks horns with MCI

A stand-off between the Tamil Nadu State Medical Council and the Medical Council of India (MCI) is threatening to spoil the monitoring of ethical medical practices and other administrative affairs governing the medical fraternity in the state.

The state council has decided to meet Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to protest against the newly-appointed MCI. The state council, which has over one lakh doctors registered, has not been represented in the council, which was nominated by the centre.

"We will not cooperate with this MCI which has no representative from the southern states. We demand that a new MCI be elected, not nominated. If that is not done, we will move the court," said Tamil Nadu State Medical Council president Dr K Prakasam.

The Medical Council of India is a statutory body which oversees the standards of medical education in India, grants licenses to recognize medical colleges and medical degrees, registers practitioners and oversees ethical practices. Disciplinary actions against recommended by MCI against doctors have to be carried by the state medical council concerned.

In 2010, the government replaced MCI with a board after the elected president Dr Ketan Desai was arrested on charges of taking bribe to recognise a medical college in Punjab. Earlier this month, senior cardiologist Dr KK Talwar, former director, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education, Chandigarh replaced Dr SK Sarin as MCI president. The ministry nominated four doctors as members of the board -- Dr SK Sharma (Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai), Dr Harbhajan Singh Rassam (Max Heart and Vascular Institute, New Delhi, Dr Rajiv Chitaman Yeravdekar (Symbiosis International University, Pune) and Dr Purushotham Lal (Metro Hospitals) in place of five members who were appointed earlier.

"When they appointed a board last year, it did not have any representatives from the state. The only representative from South was Dr Devi Shetty. This year, there is none for the southern states," said Dr Prakasam, who has sought for meeting with the health minister in Delhi next week.

The friction doesn't augur well for smooth administration of the medical fraternity. In 2010, when the government appointed board headed by Dr SK Sarin introduced the common entrance test for MBBS course, the union health ministry called the order illegal. States like Tamil Nadu obtained stay orders from the court on the common entrance.

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Excellence tag for three public health centres

Three Public Health Centres (PHCs) of Gujarat were awarded accreditation by National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) on Friday, a development top health officials hope would better primary healthcare in a state where the government is forced to hunt for and hire doctors from outside due to acute shortage.

Gujarat already has two PHCs that have been accredited by the NABH and new accreditations bring the number to five. No other state has accredited PHCs although NABH officials said Delhi is moving towards accrediting its dispensaries.

NABH accreditation, normally given to hospitals, is considered a mark of excellence in healthcare. It is “a transformational experience” that boosts the confidence and enthusiasm of the staff working in these centres, Gujarat’s Health Secretary Rajesh Kishore said.

Speaking at a national conference in Ahmedabad where the awards were given away, Kishore recalled the time he first visited India’s first accredited PHC at Gadhboriad in Vadodara district.

“I was not unfamiliar with the normal state of PHCs, but this PHC was very different. The staff and nurses were actually smiling and working with enthusiasm. The infrastructure was better than any I had seen before. I could see immediately that the accreditation was a transformational experience,” said Kishore, who had then joined the Health Department as Principal Secretary.

Gujarat has been struggling to fill up its vacancies for doctors, even sending teams to neighbouring states to recruit medical graduates and helping them register with the state’s medical council. Top officials privately rue that the state’s doctors are largely uninterested in joining the government healthcare set-up and prefer setting up their own clinics in cities and bigger towns, leading to a manpower shortage.

Soon after the Gadhboriad PHC, the PHC Mahuwas at Vansada in Navsari district too received NABH accreditation. On Friday, three more PHCs — at Jetalpur in Ahmedabad district, Salun in Kheda district and Sokhada in Vadodara district — were awarded the NABH accreditation at a national conference titled “Best Practice in Healthcare Delivery,” organised jointly by the Gujarat government and the Quality Council of India, under which the NABH functions.

Blood banks too get NABH tag

Three blood banks, one medical laboratory and a 33 family-friendly hospitals were also awarded NABH accreditation at Friday’s conference. The three blood banks are attached to medical colleges in Vadodara, Surat and Bhavnagar, while the medical laboratory is in Ahmedabad.

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Soon, autopsy in private medical college hospitals

From the next academic year, the state government would consider allowing private medical college hospitals do post-mortem examinations, senior health department officials in Chennai said.

Presently, post-mortems are done by the government medical college hospitals and district headquarters hospitals across the state. The only private hospitals authorised to do post-mortem examination is Sri Ramachandra University.

However, the announcement is being withheld as the election commission has enforced the model code of conduct. "When private hospitals can treat victims of road accidents, assault or murder, they should be able to handle post-mortems as well. This will also help the students in the medical colleges as forensic science is part of MBBS syllabus in the second and the third year," the official said. The private colleges willing to do post-mortems have to apply and permission will be granted after inspection, the official said.

The department had so far rejected applications from private colleges. But with shortage of forensic experts in the government sector, it has decided to reconsider the decision. The Karnataka government has already permitted private hospitals to conduct post-mortems.

Presently, for the 17 government medical colleges, there are just 20 qualified forensic surgeons. Eight of them are in the city colleges and hospitals. Madras Medical College has five, Stanley Medical College has two and Royapettah Government Hospital has one. There are two forensic surgeons each in Madurai, Thoothukudi and Theni, and one each in Chengalpet, Coimbatore, Kanyakumari and Vellore. In the government medical colleges in Tiruchi, Thanjavur and Dharmapuri, there are no qualified persons.

In the government hospitals, a MBBS or post-graduate doctor with any specialty is deputed to the forensic department for conducting post-mortems. A forensic expert is given only cases where the cause of death is a mystery or suspected murder. Doctors deputed to the department mostly handle accident cases. They will hand over the case to forensic experts if they think it deserves expert opinion. "Private hospitals can also do this," the official said.

Forensic experts at the government hospitals feel that this will bring down the work load in government hospitals and also offer medical students in private colleges a better learning environment. "Most students in private colleges do get to see a real-time post-mortem," he said.

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If govt gives nod, rural students can become doctor after class 10

If the union health ministry accepts the recommendations made by a national-level committee of medical experts, students from rural areas can study medicine after class X — and become healthcare professionals in three years flat.

The recommendations have been made by the ‘Curricular Reform Committee for Undergraduate Medical Education’ to the health ministry.

According to a senior doctor who has been asked to give his opinions on the recommendations, there are chances that the central government will introduce a separate medical course for rural students.

The course will produce doctors exclusively for rural areas because of dearth of doctors as city-based doctors don’t want to work in those areas.

“The government is seriously thinking to introduce a three-year medical course for rural students,” said the doctor. According to him, the name of the course will be ‘Bachelor of Rural Health Care’ (BRHC), and it can be done after class X instead of class XII.

“Though the proposal is still under consideration, it is the only practical solution to improve the healthcare scenario in rural areas,” he said.

The proposed roadmap has been submitted to the health ministry by a group of medical experts from all over India. According to the plan, the students have to either sign a 10-year bond or make a lifetime commitment to work in rural areas.

The students have to produce a bona fide certificate stating their ‘rural’ status to get admission.

According to the doctor, this move will ultimately help the patients of rural areas. “City-based doctors cannot understand the local dialect of rural patients, so some times the symptoms are not conveyed properly to the doctors,” said the doctor.

As far as starting this course in remote areas is concerned, the committee has proposed to open new medical colleges in under-served areas till 2015.

The committee has also proposed to start ‘Community Medical Colleges’ as well as extending the facilities of the existing district hospitals. “To start such course, these infrastructural changes will be important,” he said.

However, other doctors involved in medical education have protested the move to introduce BRHC. “We have been protesting this new course, because there cannot be a parallel course with MBBS. This will only deteriorate the medical education,” opined a senior doctor.

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MCI notifications on entrance tests stayed

The Madras High Court on Thursday granted an interim stay of operation, so far as it related to Tamil Nadu, of two notifications of regulations of the Medical Council of India (MCI) of December last year, prescribing eligibility-cum-entrance tests for selection to MBBS and postgraduate medical education.

Justice P.Jyothimani passed the interim order on writ petitions filed by the Tamil Nadu government seeking to declare the notifications as ab initio null and void. He ordered notice on the petitions.

In his affidavit, the Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, V.K.Subburaj, submitted that Tamil Nadu had already enacted legislation in 2007 as per which admission to government seats in professional educational institutions was made by the appropriate authority based on the marks obtained by students in the relevant subjects in the qualifying examination. A direction had also been issued to the Consortium of Unaided Professional Educational Institutions to admit students in unaided professional educational institutions on the basis of the marks obtained in the relevant subjects in the qualifying examination. Therefore, merit played an important role in the selection of candidates. The selection process to professional colleges was being successfully implemented. There were no complaints from any quarter.

The petitioner said the MCI notifications had been issued without considering the objections by Tamil Nadu. Further, the notifications ran contrary to the State Act of 2007. In the absence of the Centre's approval, the regulations were ab initio void and liable to be set aside. Though the Centre directed the MCI to withdraw the notifications, the council had not taken any step. Further, the notifications suffered from serious legal infirmity of lack of legislative competence and jurisdiction and of unreasonableness. The council had not provided opportunity to State Governments before amending and notifying the regulations. There was an ex facie unreasonableness in holding a single entrance test throughout the country as there were different streams of education in different States. The council was keen on implementing the regulations. This had created confusion in students.

Strongly opposing the regulations, Additional Advocate-General P.Wilson argued that the regulations virtually uprooted the State Act of 2007 which was not permissible.

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Rating system for medical colleges

Students looking to gain admission in colleges affiliated to the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University may find the process a lot easier next year. Authorities are mulling over formulating a rating system for these institutions to help students decide the category of college that they want to join, university vice-chancellor Dr Mayil Vahanan Natarajan said.

"We have formed an expert committee to look into the issue. They are working on deciding the parameters for the rating as different faculties will need to be marked on different factors such as infrastructure, available staff, papers submitted and so on. We hope this will be ready within three months. Once the rating is carried out, it will be uploaded on to the website," he said while speaking to reporters ahead of the 21st university convocation scheduled to be held on Saturday.

Elaborating on the different initiatives of the university, the vice-chancellor added that the institution was preparing a glossary of 17,000 technical terms in medicine in Tamil with support from the Tamil Nadu Virtual University. Authorities hope that this can act as a foundation for the creation of Tamil textbooks for medicine and eventually an MBBS course in Tamil in future.

Commenting on the strict evaluation system, Dr Natarajan said the university had decided to add up to five marks as grace marks to a student's aggregate percentage in order to make the candidate pass. If they scored 48 per cent, for instance, university authorities could add the marks to make it 50 per cent, the pass mark.

In order to make the award of degrees more convenient for students looking to apply for further studies, the university has split the convocation ceremony into two components this year. While the first session is being held in January, the second will be held in June. A total of 5136 candidates would be awarded degrees in the upcoming convocation and 22 senior doctors, who served as teachers and are now retired, would be awarded Lifetime Achievement Awards'. Seven persons would be awarded honorary doctorates.

Read more: Rating system for medical colleges - The Times of India

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MCI relief for integrated medicine practitioners in Maharashtra

The controversy over a letter purportedly written by the Medical Council of India (MCI) asking the state governments to take action under the anti-quackery provision against doctors, who offer integrated medicine, has finally been settled with the MCI clarifying that it never issued such a letter.

Integrated medicine refers to the treatment method that combines traditional Indian systems of medicine (ISM) like ayurveda, unani and siddha, with modern allopathy to cure patients. While ayurveda, unani and siddha fall under the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM), allopathy practice is governed by the MCI.

Over 7 lakh integrated medicine practitioners in the country were up in arms over the MCI letter' (dated August 10, 2010) as some state governments, including the administrations in some districts of Maharashtra, had started acting on the letter and taking action against them.

The National Integrated Medical Association (NIMA), which is a body of ayurveda and unani practitioners, had taken up the cause of these doctors and was pursuing the matter with the MCI as well as the CCIM authorities in New Delhi.

The association's prime case was that ISM doctors are institutionally qualified graduates and post-graduates trained in all branches of medicine. The practice is well supported by government resolutions (GRs) issued in 1992 and 1999 under the acts governed by the central and the state councils.

The NIMA had challenged the veracity of the MCI letter' on the grounds that it was full of factual as well as grammatical errors. "It (the letter) appeared to be a case of gross misuse of the MCI letterhead by elements opposed to the Indian systems of medicine," NIMA secretary general V D Tembhurnikar told TOI.

The letter dated August 10 purportedly signed by MCI secretary Lt Col (Retd) A R N Setalvad and addressed to the health secretaries, health directors, district magistrates and superintendent of police of all the states referred to doctors offering integrated medicine as "quacks" and called for a check on them by way of steps like enlisting such medical practitioners, checking their qualifications, status of enrolment for practice of medical profession, etc.

"What was a matter of greater concern for us is that the administration in certain districts like Solapur, Beed, Parbhani and Hingoli had started acting on the basis of this dubious letter, without verifying whether it has indeed been issued by the MCI," said Tembhurnikar. Similar action was also reported by NIMA members from other states like Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

On Monday, NIMA officials called a press conference to release the MCI's letter clarifying its position on the issue. They also appealed to the state governments to take note of the MCI position and stop acting against integrated medicine practitioners.

In its letter addressed to the CCIM on November 16, MCI deputy secretary Reena Mayyar has stated: "I am to inform you (CCIM secretary) that as per record available, the Council has not issued circular no MCI/Circular/10/1116-31-32/Anti-Quackery/2010 dated August 10, 2010."

Consequently, the CCIM has issued a letter to the health secretaries as well as health directorates, district magistrates and district superintendents of police of all the state governments, appealing to them not to take note of the dubious MCI letter of August 10' and should not act against integrated medical practitioners.

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TN plans to set up one medical college in each district

The Tamil Nadu Government has drawn up a plan to set up at least one medical college in each district of the state and to establish a State Medical Services Corporation and drug warehouses in all districts that provide quality drugs free of cost, a top official said.
"Tamil Nadu now has the highest number of medical colleges in government sector with 15 medical colleges, contributing to human resource development in medical, nursing and paramedical disciplines," State Health and Family Welfare Principal Secretary V K Subburaj told PTI.
He said the policy of one medical college per district proposed by the State Government is a milestone in the history of medicine in Tamil Nadu.
The State Government would encourage private trusts to start courses such as dental, BSc nursing and diploma in nursing courses in rural areas, he said.
"Government has given permission to start ten nursing schools and ten nursing colleges to conduct BSc nursing courses," he said.
Subburaj said government hospitals with medical colleges would be upgraded on par with international standards.
"Apart from this, all government hospitals will also be accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH), a constituent board of Quality Council of India (QCI), set up to establish and operate accreditation programme for healthcare organisations."
"Currently, two government hospitals in the state have been accredited by NABH," he said.
Stating that all Primary Health Centres in the state would also be accredited by NABH, he said at present 48 PHCs have applied for accreditation.
"NABH standards have more than 500 objective elements and about 70 per cent of these elements concern clinical practices and the rest focus on managerial functions," he said.
"The department is also encouraging public-private partnership to improve services of PHCs and government hospitals," he said.
In the last four years, 6,300 medical officers, 7,242 staff nurses, 1,282 village health nurses and more than 9,000 para medical staff had been appointed in various government hospitals, he said.

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23 Haryana doctors convicted for gender tests

At least 23 doctors and other medical staff in Haryana have been convicted in recent months for illegally conducting sex determination tests, a minister said Wednesday.

'In a drive to curb the menace of female foeticide, the Haryana health department has got convicted 23 doctors and other persons and has carried out 10,618 inspections of various ultrasound clinics,' Haryana Health Minister Geeta Bhukkal said here.

'The department has seized and sealed 125 ultrasound machines for violation of various provisions of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act,'

She said that the ultrasound machines had been seized on account of being unregistered or for violation of various provisions of the PNDT Act.

Health authorities had also suspended or cancelled the registration of 262 ultrasound centres for violation of various provisions of the Act, she added.

Bhukkal said that a survey of all organisations and people using ultrasound machines had been completed.

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Tamil Nadu preferred destination for medical tourism

Tamil Nadu has emerged as the preferred destination for medical tourism in the country, with the government prioritising the improvement of health care services in the State, said Health Minister M. R. K. Paneerselvam in Tiruchi on Thursday.

The State government has been upgrading facilities in government hospitals on par with private hospitals to extend top class health care. Expensive liver and heart transplant surgeries were now being performed at the Stanley and the Madras medical college hospitals free of cost.

Tamil Nadu is now being looked up to for its affordable and quality health care services and even foreigners were coming here for treatments, Mr. Paneerselvam observed, speaking at a function to mark the inauguration of a digital X-ray unit and the renovated neo natal ward at the Annal Gandhi Government Hospital attached to the K. A. P. Viswanatham Government Medical College in the city.

The government has sanctioned Rs. 600 crore for purchase of equipment in government hospitals. It has sanctioned the establishment of digital X-ray units in 40 medical college and government hospitals in the State. Ten have already been established and the remaining would start functioning soon.

The government has also decided to set up neo natal wards in all district headquarter hospitals and the first was opened in Tiruchi on Thursday. Construction was underway in the hospitals, and the wards would start functioning in 10 district hospitals next month. Similarly, all district headquarter government hospitals would also be provided with MRI scans and the equipment has been provided to government medical college hospitals already.

Prompt measures undertaken by the government to control the spread of diseases such as the AH1N1 influenza ensured that the State stood in the forefront in preventing loss of human lives due to such new diseases.

Appealing to government doctors and para-medics to discharge their duties sincerely and efficiently, Mr. Paneerselvam reminded the doctors that the DMK government had enacted the Hospital Protection Act to protect their interests. The salaries of government doctors and stipend of house surgeons have also been increased by the government, he said.

Transport Minister K. N. Nehru, District Collector Mahesan Kasirajan, MLAs Anbil Periyasamy, K. N. Sekaran and A. Soundarapandian, Mayor S. Sujatha, District Panchayat Council Chairperson V. Sangeetha, Corporation Commissioner T. T. Balsamy, and Dean of K. A. P. Viswanatham Government Medical College A.Karthikeyan were present.

Rs. 50 crore for Tiruchi medical college hospital

The Annal Gandhi Government Hospital would be upgraded soon and Rs. 50 crore would be sanctioned in the first phase for infrastructure development at the hospital, the Health Minister announced here on Thursday.

A new six-storey building would be built utilising the first instalment of funds. Ten super-speciality wards, each with 30 beds, would be established at the new building, which would have a total floor area of about 8,000 square metres, Mr. Paneerselvam said.

The Minister’s announcement comes in the wake of long pending demand from the city residents for upgrading the hospital, which turned into a public movement after a project to upgrade the hospital on par with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences by the Union government was mooted a few years back.

Transport Minister K. N. Nehru, who represents the Tiruchi II Assembly segment, indicated that the new building would be located in the medical college campus at Periya Milaguparai in the city.

Neo natal ward

The digital X-ray unit at the hospital has been set up at a cost of Rs.1 crore and Rs.12.12 lakhs has been spent for the renovated neo natal ward. About Rs. 25 lakhs worth of equipment are to be provided to the neo natal ward. The establishment of the 24x7 neo natal ward was intended to bring down the mortality rate of newborns.

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Nearly 1,000 more MBBS seats in Karnataka from next year

There's good news for aspiring doctors taking next year's Common Entrance Test (CET). The medical education department has given its nod to add 930 MBBS seats in nine colleges across the state starting 2011-12. Two government medical colleges — Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute — will add 150 seats next year and 100 more for Bellary-based Vijayanagara Institute of Medical Sciences.

"I have issued essentiality certificates to increase intake by 930 seats so far. Even in case of deemed universities, we have asked them to surrender 25% seats for government quota," medical education minister S A Ramadas told STOI. The Medical Council of India will take a final call.

Other institutions where an increase has been recommended include Rajarajeshwari Medical College, Bangalore (150); K S Hedge Medical Academy, Mangalore (50); Srinivasa Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Suratkal (150); Yenepoya Medical College, Mangalore (100); Navodaya Medical College, Raichur (100); Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangalore (80); Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Belgaum (50).

Currently, Karnataka has 10 government colleges with a combined intake of 1,100. In all, there are 39 institutions offering a total of 4,855 MBBS seats.

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AP rules out national quota in medical seats

The state government will not allocate its medical seats to the central pool of seats which is open for candidates from all states in the country.

In an all-party meeting held by chief minister K Rosaiah, minister for medical education Sudarshan Reddy announced that going against the instructions of the central government, the state would not contribute 15 per cent of its medical seats to the national pool.

This would mean that all the medical seats in the state will be available for students from here. Andhra Pradesh is the only state which will not contribute seats to the national share.

The decision against contributing seats to the central pool was taken in consultation with all parties, who opined that national quota would eat into the seats meant for weaker sections in the state including students from Other Backward Classes (OBC).

Meanwhile, the minister also stated that the Centre has sanctioned a 30 per cent increase in PG medical seats.

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Bombay HC upset over state’s failure to recognise courses

The Bombay High Court on Friday expressed displeasure over the state government’s apathy towards getting its post graduate medical courses recognised by the Medical Council of India (MCI). “How could this happen?" said the division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice SJ Kathawala while hearing a petition filed by 48-year-old doctor, who has been asked by the MCI to stop practice as MS (opthalmology) - about 21 years after she obtained the post graduate degree from Government Medical College, Miraj.

The petitioner doctor, Shubhangi Nigvekar has sought compensation of Rs 60 lakh from the state for the failure on its part to get her post graduate medical degree recognised.

Dr Nigvekar, who had been constrained to work on consolidated salary because of non-recognition of her post graduate degree, was conferred MS (opthalmology) degree by Kolhapur University in 1989.

Despite repeated attempts MCI has refused to grant her registration as a post graduate medical profession stating her course has not been recognised for want of proper application from the state government.

Her counsel VM Thorat on Friday said the MCI has issued a notice to the petitioner, who works with Rural Medical College, Loni (Ahmednagar district). The MCI has asked her to stop practice as her degree was not recognised.

The court has directed the government to file its affidavit on Dr Nigvekar's petition within three weeks after which it will come up for further hearing. The petitioner has said she was entitled to a compensation of Rs 60 lakh as the MS (Opthalmology) degree was of no use to her since she cannot practise as a post graduate qualified doctor.

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30 per cent increase in AP medical seats - MBBS & PG likely

Medical aspirants will have a better chance of securing a seat in state colleges next academic year as the number of medical seats in the state might increase by an average of 30 per cent, thanks to the new Medical Council of India rules. According to the recent MCI guidelines for admissions, medical colleges which have 1,100 beds can admit up to 250 students. This would mean that several top medical colleges in the state can increase their seats by 20 to even 50 per cent.

According to officials of the medical education department, colleges like Osmania Medical College (bed strength 6,000) which currently has 200 seats, would be able to add 50 more seats. Similarly, Gandhi Medical College (1,100 beds) would be able to add 100 more seats to its existing 150 in the wake of MCI's new guidelines and Warangal Medical College (1,200 beds), again with a seat strength of 150, would be able to add 50 to 100 seats depending upon the number of faculty members.

Officials of NTR University of Health Sciences said that since an average of 60,000 students qualify in the Eamcet every year an increase in the number of seats would be a welcome move. "Every year around 13 students compete for one seat. The competition will come down from the coming year," said T Venugopal Rao, registrar, NTR Health University.

Meanwhile, private medical colleges are unlikely to gain from the new guidelines as their bed strength doesn't match those of government institutions. "Once seats are increased, students having ranks up to 5,500 would stand a fair chance of getting medical admissions in the next year," said a private college management representative.

Meanwhile, senior doctors are still skeptical about number of medical seats going up. "The faculty ratio in a college will also determine the admission policy. Without enough faculty members no college can cope with increased student strength. Hence, the colleges which are eligible for seat increase have to have a bigger faculty," said Pradeep Despande, professor of nephrology and former principal, Gandhi Medical College. According to the current norms, the teacher-student ratio in undergraduate level is supposed to be 1:9.

Prof Siddappa Gourav, principal, Osmania Medical College, is optimistic of getting MCI approval for increasing the number of medical seats in his college as it has a healthy bed strength of 6,000 spread across 10 hospitals and one rural health centre.

MCI has also sanctioned a 30 per cent increase in PG medical seats for the coming academic year.

In the previous year, MCI had increased the seat share in colleges including Gandhi and Osmania by 10 per cent.

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Himachal to provide free medicines to poor

The Himachal Pradesh government Wednesday announced it would provide medicines free of cost to people living below poverty line (BPL) in the state.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, at a function in Sirmaur district, announced that under the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhaya BPL Security Yojna, each below-poverty-line family would get 38 medicines free of cost in the government hospitals of the state. Around three lakh BPL families would be benefited.

The government has already launched the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna or national health insurance scheme, under which it has tied up with the New India Insurance Company Limited to provide an insurance cover of Rs.30,000 to each family.

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